Month: November 2001

Today is the birthday of Andres Bonifacio, the Father of the Philippine Revolution. Born on November 30, 1863 to a poor couple in Tondo, Manila, the young Andres, together with his siblings, worked hard and struggled to survive especially after the death of their parents.

Later in his life, the Great Plebeian led a bigger struggle not just for his family, but for the entire Filipino nation then under the oppressive Spanish colonial government. He became a member of the peaceful group La Liga Filipina with Jose Rizal, among other propagandists. He read and was inspired by Rizal’s novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The execution of Rizal showed Bonifacio that a peaceful struggle for change was useless at that time.

He led the forming of the Kataas-taasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng manga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) or Katipunan, a secret society aimed at gaining independence (kalayaan) from the colonial rule even through violent means, if neccessary. The Filipino masses embraced the organization that also proclaimed the equality (pagkakapantay-pantay) of men and women — whether rich or poor — and taught them to care for each other (pagdadamayan). Katipunan’s membership increased and managed to win many fights.

However, as the organization gained strength and number, factionalism occurred. A certain faction, particularly from the elite, eventually dislodged the Supremo from his leadership. Even as they snatched from him his rightful claim to the leadership of a new revolutionary government, his worth as a person and a leader was also insulted. After he lost the presidency to Emilio Aguinaldo at the Tejeros Convention, he was elected secretary of interior. An asshole, however, questioned his capability to handle that post. How was the Supreme Leader of the Katipunan supposed to respond to such indignity? In the end, the Supremo was tried and sentenced to death for not recognizing the new elite-led revolutionary government.

On May 10, 1897, a general named Lazaro Makapagal and his men brought him to Mt. Nagpatong in the Maragondon provinces where he met his death. The Father of the Revolution died not in the hands of the enemy. Ironic, isn’t it? The Supremo was killed by soldiers of a government that was a result of his leadership.

His death signaled the seemingly unending cycle of betrayal of the Filipino masses.

Funny how many netizens can be very gullible that they easily believe and take as truth even satirical jokes on the Internet. In one of the forums that I regularly visit, I was alarmed after reading a post quoting an e-mail supposedly from an American Christian organization that warns parents of Harry Potter’s effect to children. Part of the e-mail reads:

And here is dear Ashley, a 9 year old, the typical average age reader of Harry Potter: “I used to believe in what they taught us at Sunday School,” said Ashley, conjuring up an ancient spell to summon Cerebus, the three-headed hound of hell. “But the Harry Potter books showed me that magic is real, something I can learn and use right now, and that the Bible is nothing but Boring lies.”

The e-mail also quoted J.K. Rowling as saying Jesus is “weak and idiotic”:

“I think it’s absolute rubbish to protest children’s books on the grounds that they are luring children to Satan,” Rowling told a London Times reporter in a July 17, 2000 interview. “People should be praising them for that! These books guide children to an understanding that the weak, idiotic Son Of God is a living hoax who will be humiliated when the rain of fire comes, while we, his faithful servants, laugh and cavort in victory.”

I searched Google using some of the exact phrases in the quotation and do you know what I found out? The e-mail used as a basis for its claims this article from The Onion, a satirical website. According The Onion site, it “uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental”.

My web host was down the whole day yesterday. I felt bad to find out my site visitors — are there any? — were unable to access my site after I spent a big part of my weekend on it. Good thing it’s now running again. However, My PC was attacked by a not-so-harmful virus. It just bugs me from time to time while I am using my PC. I’m still working on how to get it out of my system. Probably it’s a sign from CyberSpace that I’ve been ignoring the pains on my back and shoulders caused by lenghty hours spent in front of my PC.

By the way, the ARMM election was generally peaceful, according to COMELEC. Peaceful, however, is not exactly the right term to describe the current situation in some areas in Mindanao right now. Read the news and find out why.

I’ve been awake for around 20 hours already. Last night, after work, I had some bottles of beer with a buddy at our favorite Friday night hang out. Immediately after I arrived at home, I started working on my website. Finally, after around five hours of back-breaking trial-and-error session with my PC, I was finally able to set up the comments feature of my site. Many thanks to Phil Ulrich and Phil Ringnalda. Their sites were of great help to me. Want to try and see how the comments feature works?

I was among the hundreds of thousands — or probably millions — of Harry Potter fans in the Philippines that trooped to the movie houses to watch “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” on its first showing day last Wednesday, November 21. The theater I went in was jam-packed. Good thing I went to see the movie alone; I did not have to worry about looking for two or three vacant seats. I was lucky enough to get a seat from where I had a good view of the movie screen. The movie was loyal to the book. It was really great seeing it as if you are reading it directly from the book. The members of the cast were convincing. They performed so well. Daniel didn’t seem to act at all. It’s like he’s just playing his own character. Hmmm, must stop here — I am not really a movie reviewer, you know. To those who haven’t seen the movie yet, what are you waiting for?